*Disclaimer: As always on this blog, the views written here are not officially from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These were my own impressions after reading an article.*

Halloween is fast approaching, and if you have any friendly Mormon neighbors, they may invite you to a “Fall Festival” at their local church building. Every ward or branch I’ve been in has had one where the people get together and play games, eat food and lots o’ candy, and even have a Trunk or Treat. If you’re planning on going, though, you’ll probably be told not to wear a mask with your costume. When I’ve invited friends and told them the rule, they’ve asked why, and I’ve always been like, “Uh, I don’t know. Because they’re scary?” Seriously, I didn’t know. It was just one of those things that we did, and I didn’t really question it.

Now, here I am, nearly 30 years old, and I finally found a possible answer in this month’s issue of the Ensign–a magazine put out by our church. There was an article by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Twelve Apostles called “Act Well Your Part.” It’s a really good article about being the best version of yourself and setting goals. But what does this have to do with Halloween and why we don’t wear masks?

“What counsel can I give you? First, you will face great pressure to act out of character–even to wear a mask–and become someone who doesn’t really reflect who you are or who you want to be.”

Joseph and Emma Smith

He then goes on to tell the tragic story of Joseph Smith being attacked by an angry mob with black-painted faces to hide their identity. They came into his home and stole him away as he was lying with his sick 11-month-old son. They beat him and threw tar on him, but the worst part was that his sick child had been exposed to the night air and died a few days later. Also, the people who killed Joseph Smith and his brother had painted faces to hide their identities.

Obviously, here he is not talking about wearing masks on Halloween, but as I read it, I understood why we’re asked not to at wear masks at church. When we hide our identities, when we become anonymous, it’s easier to do things we wouldn’t normally do if people knew who we were and were face to face. Does this mean people wearing masks on Halloween are going to tar and feather or murder people? Probably not, but they may do other things they normally wouldn’t.

Elder Cook continues on with this advice:

“In our day, when being anonymous is easier than ever, there are important principles involved in not wearing a mask and in being ‘true to the faith . . . for which martyrs have perished.’ One of your greatest protections against making bad choices is not to put on any mask of anonymity. If you ever find yourself wanting to do so, please know it is a serious sign of danger and one of the adversary’s tools to get you to do something you should not do.

“Any use of the Internet to bully, destroy a reputation, or place a person in a bad light is reprehensible. What we are seeing in society is that when people wear the mask of anonymity, they are more likely to engage in this kind of conduct, which is so destructive of civil discourse.”

These days it’s so easy to be anonymous. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen people write hateful things online which they probably wouldn’t say in person. It’s easy to forget that there’s another living person with real feelings receiving that comment. Sometimes we may think that if we do something anonymously, then no one will know–the “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” mentality. And while we have that mask on, we can be whatever we want to be because no one knows it’s us.

But what happens when the mask comes off? Do those things we did really “stay in Vegas?” No, they’re with us always. The mask doesn’t make us forget.

There’s only one true way to be free–the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ suffered everything for everyone in Gethsemane. Every sorrow you’ve felt, every guilty feeling, he’s already felt it, so you don’t have to. If we take our problems to him and sincerely ask, he will free us. When he does, there will be no need to hide behind a mask because we will realize who we are–children of God–and that is nothing to be ashamed of.

It’s fun to dress up for Halloween, and it’s one of my favorite holidays. Who doesn’t like pretending to be someone else for a night? (Oh, right, my husband. ha!) But if you do dress up this Halloween, don’t get so caught up in your character that you forget who YOU are–a Child of God.

**Edit: I changed one thing in this entry. I changed “the answer” to “possible answer” because I don’t want people to think that I’m stating this as a fact. I’ve had some people point out that there is also a safety issue with not wearing masks, and I agree. There is also nothing stated in the Church handbook as to why we’re not to wear masks. It just says don’t. This idea was just something I felt on my own. Thanks for reading and commenting!**

I think it’s a security issue. If no one has a mask on, you know who everyone is, or at least if someone does something nefarious, people can identify said person if needed later. If people are wearing masks, someone with ill intent can hide behind the mask and not be thought of suspiciously until it is too late. The same thing goes for kids’ costumes in school — they are often told they can’t wear masks as well.

I had a friend mention that same reason. I agree. And if you think about it, that reason and the one I mentioned go together–protecting ourselves from people who hide behind masks to do wrong things anonymously. Thanks for the feedback! 🙂

There is no church-wide rule about children not wearing masks at the Halloween trunk or treat social held annually at the chapel building. Some members make their own rules on not wearing masks based on what they were told or think they were told by someone they think was telling them what to do at that particular time.
The only official rule is about not sponsoring events where the event is that people wear masks to hide their identities.
There is even a nice fun activity published in the Friend magazine past issue about how to make a mask out of a cereal box. Some people project their thoughts to be no-mask rules, when they think about masks being worn during a mob attack on Joseph Smith, however no masks were worn then, they wore face paint. Different talks have been given by General Authorities about “Masks of Anonymity” such as social media attacks, and hiding in a crowd but this has nothing to do with a 7-yr old in a turtle ninja outfit on Halloween.
Having said all this, it is up to local church leaders to determine what is best based on safety and security at their particular location.

Thanks for reading! I think all of the things you brought up have been addressed in both my post and the comments–even a direct quote from the church handbook about masks. As always, we are free to choose what we do. I did say at the beginning that this was my opinion after reading an article and not an official statement of the church. 🙂

Thank you, if you really think about it we are teaching our children to hide behind masks and to trust other people who are wearing them at a party. How are they too know the difference between a good person or bad, friend or stranger, or who they are? Halloween is fun and should be fun, but you can have fun pretending your a princess or a pirate without wearing a mask.

Sorry, Kirby, actually there is a church-wide rule and it is not up to local leaders to adapt it.
From LDS Church Handbook 2
“13.6.25 Unapproved Activities
Church units may not sponsor the following activities.
. . . Activities that involve wearing masks, except in dramatic productions.”

Meta

Just to Cover All Our Bases…

Please note that this blog is not an official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While we do strive to live, teach, and follow the teachings of the LDS Church, the statements made within this forum are the sole responsibility of the authors, and may not be accepted as official church statements on doctrine.